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- The Salina Emergency Aid Food Bank needs over 200 volunteers for the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on May 10.
- Volunteers are needed to pick up, sort and process donated food items.
- People can sign up to volunteer online or by calling the food bank.
- Donors should place non-perishable food items in blue bags by their mailboxes on May 10.
The Salina Emergency Aid Food Bank is looking for volunteer help next month during one of the biggest donation days of the year.
The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is a nationwide effort in partnership with the National Association of Letter Carriers that will take place this year on May 10.
The Salina food bank said this drive is a huge help in terms of how much food is donated each year on this day.
“In these challenging times, the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is a real blessing to our pantry,” said Karen Couch, executive director of the food bank. “This food drive has collected around 20,000 pounds of food each year for us.”
More than 200 volunteers needed during food drive
Couch said with the volume of products that get donated that day, more than 200 volunteers are needed so the bank is able to return to normal operations the following Monday.
“We have two distributions on Mondays,” she said. “That means we have to have everything in its place and the ability to go about our normal pickups and processes to be ready to do those two distributions.”
According to Couch, people of all ages are encouraged to sign up to volunteer, with plenty of tasks to be done, including picking up donations and helping with the processing of them.
“We have to sort it all, check all the dates, make sure the cans aren’t punctured and go through the normal process of donation, just at a much larger scale,” she said.
She said this could be a good opportunity for families to volunteer together, noting that any volunteer under 14 will need to be supervised by a parent or guardian, or for groups of people looking to volunteer together.
“It is a manual process, a lot of it is lifting and sorting,” she said. “But we (also) have a few places where we could put a chair for someone to just sit and check dates and stack cans properly.”
Additionally, there are several time slots available throughout that day to volunteer.
“We have spots open from about 7 a.m. to about 7 p.m.,” she said. “It’s a full day.”
Sign up to volunteer or donate during Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on May 10
Those interested in volunteering that day can go to the Salina Emergency Aid Food Bank website and click on the Stamp Out Hunger link.
According to the sign up, snacks, water and lunch will be provided to volunteers, and those who come must wear close-toed shoes.
People can also call the food bank at 785-827-7111 for more information about this food drive or to sign up to volunteer.
Finally, those interested in donating during this drive should fill the blue bag that will arrive in their mailbox with non-perishable, preferably new, food items. On May 10, place the filled bags by the mailbox and volunteers from the food bank will begin picking up donations at 9 a.m.
From 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on May 9, food bank and post office staff will be at the Salina Post office, 211 E. Ash St., for people to pick up extra blue bags or to drop off early donations.
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